Storm Blow Another Opportunity, Lose 84-76 to the Liberty

Seattle still hasn't clinched their playoff spot after losing to New York.

(Seattle, WA) - Seattle’s inconsistent play continues to haunt them down the final stretch of the season. They blew a 17-point 2nd half lead to the LA Sparks recently, which would have helped clinch a playoff spot. They blew a 9-point 2nd half lead on Friday against New York, which would have guaranteed a playoff berth. It’s an unfortunate trend that has plagued Seattle throughout the season, but especially over the final month and a half. After losses to Los Angeles and New York, the Storm are 0-2 in September. That’s after they started August by losing their first six games of the month. Seattle is 6-10 since August 1st and 8-12 since the All-Star break in mid-July. The Storm (22-21) were outscored 45-29 in the 2nd half on Friday night in their 84-76 loss to the New York Liberty (25-17). Seattle falls to 9-12 at home this season.

Earlier in the day, the Atlanta Dream gifted the Storm a present by handing the LA Sparks another defeat (104-85). It was the Dream’s 2nd win over Los Angeles this week. Seattle’s magic number is down to one, and they would have clinched a spot if they had been able to defeat a New York team that was without All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu. With one game left in the regular season, Seattle can clinch a playoff spot with either a victory over the Golden State Valkyries (23-18) on Tuesday or one more loss by the LA Sparks (19-22). Earlier in the week, the Valkyries became the first expansion franchise to earn a playoff berth in their inaugural season.

Nneka Ogwumike led the Storm with 20 points on 8-15 FG and nine rebounds. Skylar Diggins added 14 points and seven assists. Brittney Sykes contributed 11 points, and Erica Wheeler provided 12 points off the bench. Dominique Malonga was limited to just 16 minutes while she nurses her left wrist injury. She had a solid game with eight points on 4-7 FG and a couple of steals. Malonga did have a couple of missed defensive assignments.

Seattle had a 44-32 advantage with points in the paint, but seemed to go away from that in the 2nd half. They scored 28 of those 44 points through the first 20 minutes. The Storm’s inability to knock down their three-pointers hurt them badly in this game. They finished 4-20 FG for 20% from beyond the arc.

Despite losing the rebounding battle by 10, the Storm outscored the Liberty 10-5 in second-chance points. Ogwumike specifically did a great job of grabbing some offensive rebounds in this game.

New York Liberty

It was the Leonie Fiebich show early and the Breanna Stewart show late. Fiebich scored 16 of her 21 points in the first half. She also knocked down 4-6 FG of her three-point attempts. Stewart scored 16 of her 24 points in the 2nd half. Stewie got to the free throw line 12 times over the final two periods and made 11-12 FT. She went 13-14 FT from the charity stripe for the game. Stewart made more free throws than the Storm did as a team.

Stewie showed why she’s a two-time WNBA MVP and why she is still arguably one of the best players in the league. She had her prints all over the outcome of this game. With the game on the line, Stewart impacted both ends of the court on just about every play. On offense, she was either getting to the free throw line or knocking down a huge three-pointer. On defense, she had multiple steals, deflections, and five blocked shots. Many of those came in the crucial moments of the 4th quarter. It was a not-so-friendly reminder of what the Storm used to have.

The Liberty were without Sabrina Ionescu, and Jonquel Jones ended up playing just 18 minutes due to being in major foul trouble throughout the game. Jones picked up her fourth foul at the beginning of the third period and her 5th foul to start the 4th quarter. Despite not having their full roster playing big minutes, they still beat the Storm in Seattle.

Outside of big games from Stewart and Fiebich, New York got solid contributions from Natasha Cloud (10 points, six assists, and seven rebounds), Kennedy Burke (13 points off the bench), and Emma Meesseman (9 points on 4-6 FG).

New York controlled most of the game’s stats. They outshot Seattle 49% (27-55 FG) to 44% (30-68 FG). They were a +15 points from beyond the arc and hit 45% of their three-point attempts. They were a +9 from the free throw line (21-23 FT to 12-15 FT). They out-rebounded Seattle 36-22. They had a slight edge in assists (22-19) and fast break points (9-6).

It’s been an interesting season for the defending champs. They have had lots of injuries that have kept star players Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, and Sabrina Ionescu each out of multiple games. They also lost Betnijah Laney-Hamilton to a knee injury before the season began. Even with those struggles, they still have an opportunity to win 27 games this season. However, surprisingly, that won’t be good enough to finish as a Top 4 seed. New York is likely to finish as the 5th seed, and they will need to win on the road if they hope to repeat as WNBA Champions.

Game Breakdown

Natasha Cloud quickly sped to the rim and finished with a reverse layup for the game’s first basket. Brittney Sykes got to the rim for two. Leonie Fiebich drilled a three-pointer. Gabby Williams got a deflection that was grabbed by Sykes, who got downhill for another layup. Gabby got to the rim again to put the Storm ahead 6-5. Fiebich knocked down a corner three. Then Jonquel Jones finished at the rim to put the Liberty up four. Nneka Ogwumike responded with a midrange jumper to pull Seattle within two.

Stewie faked her defender out and went straight down the lane for two. Ogwumike snagged an offensive rebound and finished with a putback. Fiebich connected on another triple. Then got to the foul line on the next possession to extend the Liberty’s lead to five at 17-12. Gabby and Emma Meesseman swapped baskets. Another three by Meesseman put the Liberty ahead by eight.

Williams found Dominique Malonga down in the paint for an easy score. At the end of the first, the Liberty led the Storm 22-16. New York hit 67% (4-6 FG) from beyond the arc, and the Storm went 0-5 FG in the opening quarter.

Skylar Diggins found Malonga off the pick-and-roll for another layup. Erica Wheeler got past Meeseman for a finger roll. Natasha Cloud got by Seattle’s defense for a layup on the other end. After two free throws by Ogwumike, Meeseman connected on a midrange jumper. Tiffany Mitchell used an up-and-under to score. Wheeler found Malonga rolling again, and Dom scored over Meeseman to tie the game at 26-26, forcing Coach Sandy Brondello to call a timeout.

Out of the timeout, Breanna Stewart scored on a turnaround fadeaway. Wheeler scored on a stepback past Stewie. Jonquel Jones picked up a couple of quick fouls and had to sit after picking up her third total. Wheeler knocked down a three-pointer to give the Storm the lead at 31-28. Stewie responded with a transition score. EW was fouled on a drive and made both free throws. Diggins then got a steal in the open court and raced down the court for two. Rebekah Gardner got open off the pick-and-roll. Gabby Williams answered with another triple to give the Storm a six-point lead.

Fiebich drilled her fourth three-pointer of the first half. Nneka scored again from her own offensive rebound. Leonie scored two more from the foul line. Skylar answered with a three-ball to put the Storm ahead by eight, 45-37. Breanna Stewart got to the line and made both foul shots. Diggins drove past the defense to the rim for two. Seattle led 47-39 at the midway point. The Storm outshot the Liberty 54% (20-37 FG) to 48% (14-29 FG). However, New York was able to keep it close by making 63% (5-8 FG) of their three-pointers. Seattle doubled New York 28-14 with points in the paint.

New York had a strong start to the second half as they forced Diggins into a turnover and then knocked down another three-pointer by Natasha Cloud. Brittney Sykes was able to draw the 4th foul on Jonquel Jones, and made two free throws. But Fiebich got an AND1 to cut their deficit down to four. Ezi Magbegor got a big block on Fiebich and then scored in transition on the other end. Slim Sykes got an AND1 to put the Storm ahead by nine. Kennedy Burke answered with a drive past Diggins. Skylar answered with a pull-up jumper.

Seattle was lost on defense for multiple possessions in a row. New York had a couple of great looks at a three, but couldn’t convert. Eventually, Emma Meeseman scored in the paint, forcing Coach Quinn to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, Sykes turned the ball over. Stewie got to the foul line multiple times. Stewart, along with Kennedy Burke, led a 9-2 run by New York to cut the Storm’s lead down to two.

Isabelle Harrison was fouled and split the pair. Burke made two more from the line to cut the Storm’s lead down to one. New York outscored Seattle 20-13 in the third period. The home team maintained a 60-59 lead.

New York retook the lead as Kennedy Burke got open, cutting to the rim. Nneka Ogwumike scored past Stewie. Natasha Cloud drilled a three-pointer, and then Tiffany Mitchell turned the ball over. Jonquel Jones picked up her 5th foul. The Storm continued to settle for bad shots. Stewart knocked down a three at the top of the arc, which gave the Liberty a five-point lead at 67-62. Coach Quinn called another timeout as another game was slipping away.

Skylar Diggins got to the rim and was fouled. Stewie stripped Nneka, and that led to a three-pointer by Burke. Stewart then blocked Nneka’s shot and later stripped the ball off Ezi’s body and out of bounds. Gardner got to the rim for two more to put New York ahead by eight. Diggins was fouled, made one of two, but Ogwumike grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled.

After a Fiebich layup, Erica Wheeler knocked down a deep three-pointer. Nneka scored in the low post past Stewart. Seattle used a 10-2 run to cut the Liberty’s lead down to two at 74-72. After New York’s timeout, Stewart got straight to the rim. Stewart was fouled and extended the Liberty’s lead back up to six. Brittney Sykes dribbled through the defense and scored.

The Storm got an important stop, and it looked like Diggins was going to go to the foul line, but the call was reversed after Brondello won the challenge. On the next possession, Seattle lacked ball movement, and Wheeler took an out-of-control layup that missed. Stewie made 6-6 FT in the final 47 seconds to secure the victory for the Liberty. New York outscored Seattle 45-29 in the 2nd half to win 84-76.

Final Box Score

Up Next

The Seattle Storm (22-21) have one game left. They host the Golden State Valkyries (23-18) on Tuesday, September 9th. Seattle MUST win this game, or have the LA Sparks lose one more time this season. The Sparks host the Dallas Wings on Sunday, travel to Phoenix on Tuesday, and travel to Las Vegas on Thursday.

Part 2

Part 2 will include additional thoughts and discussion from Friday’s game against the New York Liberty. It’ll be sent exclusively to paid subscribers.

Notes:
Share your thoughts on this game in the comments below!
Thanks for all the great support! Please share my coverage with other WNBA fans. Please share, retweet, repost, etc., if you enjoy my articles.
Thanks to Her Hoop Stats and Across the Timeline for being great resources.
Photo Credits: Seattle Storm/WNBA Photography